


StormPilot Suite: Day 0 - Marcato

by whorl



Series: StormPilot Suite [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Stormpilot - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 05:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6598210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whorl/pseuds/whorl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn and Poe Dameron get to know each other. Perhaps a little romance may blossom, if they are given enough time.</p><p>Set during the action of The Force Awakens, immediately after the attack at Takodana, prior to the Resistance fleet's departure to attack Starkiller Base.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Long-lost friends

**Author's Note:**

> Poe Dameron, Finn, myriad other Star Wars characters, and small sections of dialogue from "The Force Awakens" that appear in this story are all the property of Disney/Lucasfilm. No copyright infringement intended. Please don't sue me, I have no money.

Everything was a blur. One week ago, he was FN-2187, one of an endless supply of anonymous Stormtroopers. Three days ago, he became Finn, and everything had changed.

“General Organa! Sorry to interrupt. This is Finn. He needs to talk to you.” Poe Dameron’s voice was insistent.

Finn could barely believe it. Poe had died. He had seen the stolen TIE fighter swallowed up by the desert. Crushed. In the blink of an eye, both ship and pilot blown into a billion pieces below the sand. But, suddenly, Poe wasn’t dead. There he was, with his X-wing, when Finn landed at the D’Qar base. Though they’d spent less than an hour together since they met, they reunited as long-lost friends.

It was a miracle that he had survived. And if Poe was alive, maybe there was still hope for Rey. Finn turned his attention to General Organa. Her eyes were kind, but cautious.

“And I need to talk to him.” Organa nodded to Dameron. “That was incredibly brave what you did, renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life.”

“Thank you, ma’am. But a friend of mine was taken prisoner.” Rey couldn’t be abandoned, subjected to the cruelty of the First Order. Finn knew they had to help her escape, and soon.

“Han told me about the girl. I’m sorry.”

Poe spoke up again. “Finn’s familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System. He worked on the base.”

General Organa hoped that the refugee had valuable information. “We’re desperate for anything you can tell us.”

“That’s where my friend was taken. I’ve got to get there fast.” Finn knew better than most what the First Order was capable of, and the terrible steps they would take to achieve their goals.

“And I will do everything I can to help, but first you need to tell us all you know.” Organa motioned to her aide, and soon the General, Finn, and a dozen senior pilots and advisors were meeting behind closed doors.


	2. That's my jacket

Poe Dameron was having quite a day.

One week ago, he had received another routine mission—top secret, sure, but routine for **him**. But then it had all gone to hell. In an instant, Tekka was dead, BB-8 was abandoned, and he was captured, tortured on a First Order prison ship. _I didn’t **say** anything_. The thought came, unbidden, protective. He closed his eyes against the memory. _Not now._

Three days ago, a Stormtrooper had broken him out. A nervous kid, with fear and hope in his eyes. A miracle—an opportunity to escape. Poe had finally gotten his chance to fly a TIE fighter. Only he hadn’t been a good enough pilot that day, and Finn—his newly named rescuer—had died on that desert planet.

But, somehow, Finn wasn’t dead.

Poe had just landed back on D’Qar. He ran his hand along the side of his X-wing, frowning at a scorch mark left by blaster fire. He smiled grimly. He’d taken down that Stormtrooper, the one who’d left a mark on his ship, plus a whole lot more. The rest had fled in the face of the Resistance fleet.

Poe watched the General’s ship land and start deploying survivors of the attack at Takodana. He had turned back, assessing his side deflector panel more closely, and suddenly BB-8 was beside him, all joyful energy, talking about Jacket Man and finishing the mission and Han Solo and rathtars.

“Hey! BB-8, my friend!” Poe couldn’t believe BB-8 was intact, alive. Another miracle. “Good to see you!” Poe smiled warmly at his loyal friend. Despite what happened during his recent capture, BB-8 had made it. Poe breathed a sigh of relief. On top of the security of his friends and trying to salvage his failed mission, he was really attached to his little droid. Suddenly, Poe heard what BB-8 was saying. “Wait, **Finn** saved you? Where is he?”

Poe looked up, and saw a ghost. Only it wasn’t a ghost—Finn’s embrace was solid and reassuring. Finn was alive.

“What happened to you?” Finn looked as stunned as Poe felt.

“What happened? I got thrown from the crash and I woke up at night and no you, no ship, no nothing.” BB-8 was chattering happily next to the two men. “BB-8 says that you saved him.”

Finn protested, “No, no. It wasn’t just me.”

“You completed my mission, Finn—” Poe grabbed the lapel of the coat Finn was wearing, and cocked an eyebrow. “That’s my jacket.”

Finn started to shrug out of the jacket, but Poe stopped him. “No, no no no. Keep it. It suits you.”

Poe looked into Finn’s eyes. The fear was still there, and the hope. But now he saw a glint of steely determination as well. Suddenly, Poe was hit with a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time as his heart lurched into the pit of his stomach. Poe felt a smile spread slowly across his face. “You’re a good man, Finn.”

“Poe, I need your help.” Finn spoke hurriedly, and soon Poe was leading him swiftly down the maze of corridors to the Resistance command center.


	3. Alliance

Finn’s footsteps echoed in the hallway. Despite the late hour, the base was bustling with activity. Pilots, engineers, and technicians moved in small groups, discussing possible modifications to their ships. Tactical flight plans were being sketched out. Inventories taken. Supply rations calculated. But everywhere he walked, conversation grew quieter, and Finn felt eyes following him.

He had been at the Resistance base for six hours. Already, everybody knew him on sight. Knew what he was. Nobody trusted him. Could he blame them?

The General had been straight with him, at least. He respected that. Finn’s knowledge of the Starkiller Base was an unexpected asset to the Resistance, and he had spent three hours detailing everything he could remember about its structure, its staffing, its weaknesses. Another hour spent discussing the command structure of the First Order left Finn’s voice shot and his energy flagging.

General Organa dismissed her senior staff, but asked Finn to stay behind. She spent a long moment looking at the young man, who grew uncomfortable in the silence.

“General?”

“Finn, please know that I appreciate your insights. I have no doubt that the information that you have given us will save many lives.” She sighed, and Finn recognized the look in her eyes.

“Ma’am, I don’t know how to say it clearer—I hate the First Order. I would never...could never be—”

Organa put up a hand to stop his protests. “I can see that. But you have to appreciate that the safety of everyone in this alliance is my top priority. And since I respect your willingness to help us, I want to be honest with you.”

“You won’t trust me.”

“Finn, I **can’t** trust you.” Finn was startled; he hadn’t thought of this. “We just don’t know enough about the First Order, the indoctrination, the programming they might have—”

Finn jumped to his feet. “I am not a machine! I am not a— **clone**!” His voice shook with emotion. _Am I?_

“Finn, sit down.” Organa leaned forward. “I appreciate that your intentions are noble. But the First Order are master planners. They have contingencies that even you aren’t aware of. Be assured that you can remain here with us, and even if they should—”

“No. Never. If they have done something to me that puts you all in danger, I’ll... I’ll run. Lead them away from you. Hell, if it comes to it, I’ll shoot—”

“Finn.” The General’s voice was steadying. “Even if they try to exploit your alliance with us in some way, we will protect you to the best of our ability. I think there is a place for you here, but you’ll have to bear with us a little bit. We’ve never had an ex-Stormtrooper before. It will take some time for everyone to adjust.” She thought of her men, reflecting on their attitudes. “Some people, longer than others. But in the meantime, you have my personal gratitude.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I hope in time that I will earn your trust, as well.”

“I hope so too, Finn.” Organa genuinely meant that, and Finn believed her.

“General, what can I do to help in the meantime? We have to go help Rey as soon as we can.”

“We need to prepare. That takes time.” The General was firm. “We have five days. I suggest you get some rest tonight. If you can do any mechanical work, I’m sure you’ll be in demand at the airfield tomorrow. Otherwise, there are plenty of non-specialist jobs around the base.”

Finn was reassured. At least Organa trusted him enough to let him work while he stayed with the Alliance. And though he wanted to leave on the rescue mission immediately, he knew that the General was right. Rushing in without a plan was certain suicide. “Ma’am, for tonight, where do I go?”

“There are common quarters in the South wing of the base. There’s plenty of space there, and rations as you need.” Organa paused for a moment. “Commander Dameron spoke highly of you today. Find him, and he’ll show you the ropes.”

Finn chuckled. “Well, I already stole his jacket. He won’t be surprised when I ask him for another favor.” The General smiled.

“Good night, Finn. And good luck.”

“Thank you, General. Good night.”

In the cantina, in the sleeping quarters, the Rebels’ eyes followed him. They watched him uneasily, keeping a measured distance, conversations muted. Normally Finn would have tried finding Poe, or striking up a conversation with someone, anyone. However, that first night, exhaustion eventually won. Finn slept—friendless, for the moment, but safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Gentle Reader! Allow me to bombard you with a few additional notes about the story.
> 
> As I mentioned earlier, this tale is set within the established Star Wars universe during “The Force Awakens,” immediately following the assault on Takodana. I have tried to respect the canon of the Star Wars timeline, history, and character profiles as best as I can, using Wookiepedia and The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary for supplemental information. For the purposes of this story, I expanded the timeline slightly, allowing for a longer planning period between the return from Maz Kanata’s and the Resistance attack on Starkiller Base (no strict timeline is mentioned in the film, but it all appears to happen pretty fast -- for this story, there is a five-day break between these two events).
> 
> The only two non-canonical characters in the story have pretty small roles. One of them’s a bit of a jerk, and shares a name with a very minor expanded-universe (non-canonical) Empire-affiliated officer, but is otherwise wholly novel (I didn’t want to build in a rather mean backstory for one of the named -- but thinly historied -- officers who briefly appears on screen during TFA).
> 
> One quotation that appears in the work (“Love always wins”) was uttered by Sir Paul Holmes. For the purposes of the story, I have attributed its origin to Lor San Tekka.
> 
> Please let me know if you spot any glaring spelling/grammatical/other errors, or if something is at odds with the greater Star Wars history. I will do my best to correct all errors, and I appreciate everyone’s help in spotting them! Also, I like to abuse commas and em dashes, so grammarians beware!
> 
> And last but not least, thank you so much for reading! I hope you shall continue on to the next part of the series!
> 
> P.S. If you really like author’s notes, check out the very end of the last story in the series for a doozy of a final note. (You have been warned.)


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